


War Paint

by moonyandpadfoot07



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Accident, Angst, Awkward Romance, Bisexual, Café, Car Accident, College, Death, Depression, Doctor - Freeform, Drinking, F/M, M/M, Modern AU, Slow Burn, Trost, med school, motorcycle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 04:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5614069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonyandpadfoot07/pseuds/moonyandpadfoot07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren tries to put his life back together after surviving a car crash that ended his parents’ lives. And then he meets Levi, the short guy in a leather jacket who is in love with his motorcycle and seems like he got his life altogether. Eren blames himself for his parents deaths, until he discovers one secret that changes his life forever.</p><p>And maybe Levi isn't just a guy in a leather jacket.</p><p>Maybe he knows something he shouldn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have been shipping them ever since I finished the first season of Attack on Titan last year, and dying to write a fanfic that I can commit myself to before school starts. I also hope to finish this fanfic before I get busy with school, because there’s a lot that’s waiting for me once Christmas break is over (f*ck college).  
> I will prolly write 5 chapters or so. This fic kind of reflects what I have been through a couple of years ago. I will make Eren bisexual here, just in case some of you are wondering.  
> I don’t know where this idea of Eren being a med student came from, and I haven’t seen much fanfics in this kind of setting so here ya go. Also, I’m kind of loving the concept of Levi going around town in sunglasses and a leather jacket with his black motorcycle because, really, how can you write an AU without Levi being the badass that he is in the anime? I’m hoping I will give justice to both Eren and Levi’s characters here.

He quit med school.

That was a year ago. Now he’s trying to get back on his feet and return to where he left off, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought. Nothing was as easy as it used to be. Getting up from bed wasn’t easy anymore, but somehow Eren managed to pull himself out of it every day. He thought it was pathetic to consider that as an achievement, but hey, it’s a difficult job to do.

He used to set five alarms on his cell phone to make sure he wakes up on time, because being late on a 7 AM class on a Monday was the worst. This used to do the trick, but now Eren either overslept or woke up three hours before his alarm went off.

He’s making himself breakfast. Fried eggs and sausages, toast, orange juice—just like what Mom made him before. He hated to admit it, but breakfast was probably his first and last meal for the day.

Armin, his best friend who’s working as a research assistant to Dr. Hange, asked Eren to move in with him in his new studio apartment. _To provide a new perspective_ , Armin had said, but Eren knew it was simply to keep an eye on him. He refused politely.

“I’m alright, really. But thanks for the offer, mate.”

Now Eren was trying to imagine what life would be if he did move in with Armin. Would he be happier? Probably yes, but the thought of leaving home was difficult to process. Armin bought the studio apartment after his grandfather died, and Eren couldn’t help but wonder how his best friend was able to do that. Why was it so hard for him to move on, but not for Armin?

Armin loved his grandfather so much. He was all he had after Armin’s parents’ passed when they were young.

“I never met them, so it wasn’t that much of a loss. Well, it’s a loss. A great one, but you get me. You get me, right? I mean, I love them. But it was... I don’t know. I’m kind of indifferent to it.”

That was the last time Eren asked about Armin’s grandfather.

He quit med school, but he’s planning to come back next term. Eren knows he had to move on. Get on with life. Graduate. Marry. Have kids. Visit their graves. And forever feel guilty about their deaths.

He tried to make sense of what happened, but the memory was stuck in his head like a song in a loop. He had replayed the scenes a thousand times, tried to figure out what he could have done different to prevent all of it from happening.

He was so stupid.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. It’s done and there’s nothing he could do about it. They’re dead. They’re not coming back.

_They’re not coming back._

It still hurt like hell.

Eren put down his fork and decided to keep the food for later.

* * *

He used to have a theory that he was the wrong baby his parents came home with from the hospital after he was born. His father was a doctor and a professor. His mother was a retired English teacher. Both of them came from the academe, but Eren never had the brevity to finish an assignment. He wasn’t interested in the same things as them. He never listened to the Beatles like Dad, or read mystery novels like Mom. He wasn’t into sports. Eren didn’t fit in with the kids in their town and spent afternoons watching game shows on television. Not until Armin’s grandfather bought the house next to theirs that Eren had a playmate.

Ever since he could remember, it was only Armin who had stayed to be his friend. They would joke about being misfits, and part of them knew it was true. So what? They oddly clicked together, Eren being the fierce green-eyed kid who didn’t give a damn about anything and Armin being the shy, new kid in town who was clever enough to pass all their subjects without actually studying.

“You should wear glasses.” Eren suggested one day on their way home.

“Why, so I’d look like a typical nerd? No.” Eleven-year old Armin laughed.

“You’re a weirdo, you know that.” Eren said.

“Yeah, you too.”

Now there was a knock on the door. How long had he been lying on his bed? One, two hours?

“Hey, Eren. It’s me.”

Eren froze.

He gave Armin a spare key to the house since he went almost every day to check on him. But today it wasn’t Armin. It was somebody else.

“Eren?”

Eren sat up, his heart beating fast. Should he open the door?

“Eren.”

A mass of black hair and the familiar scent of the woman he knew for almost ten years, plus the red scarf she always wore around her neck.

“Mikasa…” It was weird saying her name.

She left when his parents died. Eren could remember her saying, “It’s not your fault, Eren. It’s an accident.”

But she wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“Hello,” Mikasa began. “Would you like to go out and—“

“Why?” The word came out as a whisper. It was intended to sound a little harsher, a little angry. But all he could make was a soft sound.

She saw it coming, but not this way. Not seconds after she returned, no. Mikasa knew he’d be asking. She damn knew he would. But why right now? At this very moment?

Did he deserve to know why? Eren asked himself.

“I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about that.”

There was a trail of regret in her voice. He heard it. Or was he imagining it?

Eren nodded weakly. “Yeah.”

He accepted defeat. No. Mikasa didn’t want to talk about it. Not now, not ever.

But oh, he was mad at her leaving. Why? She promised to take care of him. She promised she’d always be here. She promised—

“Do you want to go out? With Armin?” Mikasa asked.

Eren was terribly afraid to give the wrong answer.

“Sure. Just like old times?”

_Just like old times._

Mikasa tucked the end of her scarf like she always did when she was nervous, or happy. “Just like old times. Come on.”

It was a fifteen-minute walk to a nearby restaurant they used to come to when they were in high school. They served burgers, and God, Eren loved burgers so much. He would devour three at a time, and Mikasa would watch him in fascination stuff those three different burgers in his mouth. And then there was Armin who loved fries, and he would munch on them while reading another geography book (Mikasa swore he read different books every week).

And now Eren was asking why she left. For all he knew it broke her heart to do it. She should have been there when her foster brother needed her the most. But she left.

Her heart shattered in a million pieces.

She loved him more than a brother. A friend. Oh, Eren, he was more than that. He was family. He was everything.

But why was he so dumb to realize that?

She had to apologize for walking out on him. But she needed to do it. Leaving Eren was necessary.

Or she wouldn’t had found peace.

When they reached the restaurant, Armin was already there beaming at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you don't mind if Levi comes out in the next chapter because I felt the need to establish Eren's back story before proceeding with the romance between these two lovely characters. What I'm trying to write is Eren trying to cope with his depression without actually realizing (or accepting) he is depressed. There's a lot going on with him, and he doesn't know what or how to feel anymore. But he's still trying to function as regular person, just like how he used to before the accident.
> 
> You see, this fic is really personal to me. This is a kind of release for me, and I hope you guys stick with me until the very end. Stay awesome, people.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's knowledge in first aid treatment helps save a man in a black leather jacket who crashes his motorcycle near the cafe Eren is at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos! I’ve noticed that the first chapter was short, and decided that I’ll just keep writing the chapters that way. Also, this is the chapter where Levi comes out so, yay!

Eren sometimes had sleepless nights, and tonight was one of them. Mikasa went home today, and he still couldn’t wrap his head on the idea. He was elated to have her back, but at the corner of his mind he wished she hadn’t.

“I hate you,” Eren whispered to himself.

Mikasa was in her bedroom now, probably sleeping. It’s 10:18 PM, the alarm clock read. Eren tossed to his side and pulled the covers up. It’s a little chilly outside and the windows were open. His one foot was exposed to the cold and the other covered up, and he liked it that way. When he was a child he imagined a monster coming from underneath his bed reaching up to his leg and dragging him across the room, and it was always just before he went to sleep that he would think of that creature lurking in the shadows to come and bite him. He always taunted himself, but never got scared.

His thoughts went back to Mikasa. What was so important to her that he had to be absent from his life for two months?

He could remember Armin talking him through the situation after she left.

“It was necessary.”

Eren’s face was covered in his hands. He removed them, looking up to Armin for an answer. “Why? Because she hates me so much?”

Armin shook his head. “No, because she hates herself too much.”

Eren’s brows furrowed, and his mind swirled in confusion. “What? Why? I was the one who killed my—our parents! I was the murderer! I was—“

Armin moved across the room and sat beside Eren. “She hates herself because she can’t do anything to ease the pain you’re going through. She said she would protect you, but was unable to do it. She doesn’t blame you for what happened, Eren. She cares for you too much.” Armin paused, trying to see if his best friend was making sense of what he was telling him. He bit his lip, and debated whether to tell Eren the secret Mikasa has been hiding all this years. _Better tell him now if this makes things better,_ Armin thought.

“Can’t you see, Eren? She is in love with you.”

Eren’s face contorted, then relaxed, and finally he said with utter disbelief, “What?”

“Always been.” Armin said quietly.

Up until today Eren wondered about how it felt like for Mikasa all this time, because never in a million years he would feel exactly the same way for her. Mikasa was irreplaceable in his life and he loved her too, but as a sister, as a friend. She was all what’s left to him, and Armin but one of them decided to flee and it crushed him beyond he could imagine.

“Why?” Eren voiced his thoughts out loud as he kept wondering why she did what she did.

(line break)

Armin came to visit again the next day, and Eren knew when he heard his best friend’s voice just outside his door.

“Eren, come out! Let’s hang.”

Eren groaned. He didn’t sleep a wink last night, but now he was yawning—a clear indication that his body needs to sleep.

Armin was knocking. “Come on, Eren!”

“Can I pass? Just for today?” Eren said sleepily as he buried his face in his pillow. He heard the door creak and the sound of footsteps of two people barging in his room.

“Eren, get up,” Mikasa said as she removed the blankets from Eren’s body, revealing a freezing boy to tried to catch up on sleep.

“Shut up. I wanna sleep.”

“You’ve done nothing but sleep for a whole week. Time to do some activities.” Mikasa gently shook Eren in efforts to make him get up.

“Yeah? How do you know that? You’ve been gone from my life for months.” Eren replied.

Mikasa stopped shaking him.

“Let’s leave him be if he doesn’t want to come,” Armin suggested, feeling the tension in the atmosphere.

“Alright, _Armin.”_ Eren sat up and his best friend couldn’t help but notice the big mess that was Eren’s hair popping in different directions. “Where are we going?”

Mikasa sighed. Eren tried to ignore her.

“There’s a café a few blocks away that we can go to. I haven’t had breakfast and I’m guessing you two haven’t either,” Armin looked at the two and a smile played in his lips. “So let’s go?”

“I’ll get dressed,” Eren stood and Armin and Mikasa went out the door.

“Don’t forget to comb your hair!” Armin said from the other side of the door.

“No need to remind me,” Eren said quietly.

* * *

The café was called “Trost” and Eren thought he had read the name somewhere. He pushed the thought out of his head when they entered the place, and Eren was surprised to find out that the inside was a lot cozier than it looked from the outside.

“Nice, isn’t it?” Said Armin. Eren and Mikasa followed him to a spot near the corner where they all sat and decided what to order. Eren yawned again, covering his mouth with his left hand. He rubbed his eyes. “Coffee,” he said sleepily. “I’ll doze off any minute if I don’t drink.”

“Okay, but what kind? Hot or cold?” Armin asked as he studied the menu and flipped the large card for the other side.

“Whatever. Just bring me some coffee.” Eren shrugged.

“How about you, Mikasa?” Armin asked, still not looking up from the menu.

“You order for us. You seem to come here often.” Mikasa said as she looked around the place.

“They only opened a week ago to buy Dr. Zoe coffee. That was one time.” Armin told them. “Okay, I’ll just get you whatever they recommend, okay?” Armin got up from his seat and walk towards the counter.

Eren did not want Armin to leave him with Mikasa. He couldn’t stand the awkwardness.

Neither of them spoke while Armin was gone. Eren drummed his fingers on the table, while Mikasa kept herself busy looking outside, arms folded in front of her chest. Maybe it was pride that kept him from saying anything to her, or maybe even anger, or hurt, or sadness, or just a mix of everything. Or maybe he was just too scared to know even if he was dying to hear from her. Maybe that was it, because when he stole a glance at her his heart skipped a beat when he saw Mikasa looking back at him.

If he could see his reflection through the glass that surrounded the café, maybe he would see a glint of fear in his eyes. And the fear would fade away ever so quickly because anger was always there, and it never seemed to leave.

“Here ya go, folks.” Armin came back with a tray of food consisting of pasta and bagels and two tall glasses of iced latte and a hot drink that Eren couldn’t identify. He presumed it was coffee because it smelled nice, and when he finally had his hands on it he took a sip.

That has got to be the most heavenly drink in the world.

As soon as the coffee touched his lips, Eren felt a warm bubble burst inside his chest. He was like a child for feeling so gleeful over a cup of coffee, and couldn’t resist asking his male best friend what possibly could be the name of this goddamn drink to mankind.

“It’s caramel macchiato. Do you like it?”

Eren nodded.

Then they proceeded to eat, with Armin doing most of the talking and Eren and Mikasa nodding and answering his questions briefly. It was just like this yesterday when they met at the restaurant they used to hang out in during high school called. “Annie’s” and Eren could feel Armin getting a little uncomfortable with their set-up, so from time to time he’d add something to what Armin was saying.

Today he didn’t feel like doing it again, so Eren stayed quiet. Mikasa did the same thing. Well, she was always quiet.

That’s when it happened: a black motorcycle came speeding down the road and with a violent crash, the rider was thrown away from the vehicle, landing a few feet from the spot where his motorcycle was deformed. Eren quickly ran to the door and went for the injured victim, kneeling beside him and feeling the person’s pulse. The man was conscious.

“My name is Eren and I am here to help. Can you hear me, Sir?” Eren wasn’t entirely sure the person he was speaking to was a man, but he looked like one. That’s when he noticed that the person was small, but not too small, and Eren decided to carefully remove the helmet that was covering the person’s face. Armin and Mikasa crouched beside him, as he could see from his peripheral vision, and ordered that they call for an ambulance. There were also others who took out their phones and snapped pictures instead of helping. And hell, there were even those who were filming this scene. Eren clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He heard Armin talking on his phone. Now Eren needed something to stop the blood that was gushing out from the victim’s knee.

“Mikasa, can you get me something to wrap around his knee? Anything clean. Just ask someone from—“

“On my way.”

Mikasa nwent back to the café to get the stuff he required for first aid treatment, and Eren continued to study the man’s body—he had a cut on his forehead, a broken arm (Eren could see it from the way the man held it), and a bleeding knee that he was about to mend.

 When Eren remembered that the man hasn’t responded yet, he repeated the question. “Sir, can you hear me? What’s your name?”

The man made moaned, confirming that he could indeed hear Eren. He grimaced in pain, but still answered Eren’s question. “L-Levi,” the man said as he twitched.

Good thing the man was wearing a helmet, or he would have sustained more injuries than this. Armin kneeled beside Eren and told him that an ambulance was already coming.

“Okay, Levi. I need you to stay calm. I can treat you. I’ll just wrap your knee with a piece of cloth to stop bleeding, okay? Stay put.”

Mikasa was back with a clean, white cloth and handed it over to Eren. When Eren was through with wrapping it on the man’s knee, the ambulance came a lot sooner than they were all expecting, much to Eren’s relief.

The response unit rushed to the scene and carefully transported the man to the stretcher. Not long enough, Eren and the others watched as the ambulance drove off, its sirens ringing loudly in their ears, fading until the vehicle disappeared into the distance.

Before he knew it, Eren was surrounded with applause. People were clapping at him. He looked around, bewildered.

“You saved a life,” Mikasa smiled weakly at him.

“Yeah,” Eren said, a little stunned.

“That was cool, bro.” A guy in his early twenties came up to them and beamed. He extended his hand to shake Eren’s. He also wore an apron, Eren noticed just now. “I’ll tell you what, your food is on the house. No need to pay for it.”

Armin’s eyes widened. “Really? Thank you so much!”

“My name’s Jean, by the way. Jean with an ‘e’ and an ‘a’, not with an ‘ohn’. I own this place.” He grinned at them. “Now, shall we come back inside?”

The four of them were about to step inside when Eren noticed a tiny object shining on the ground and felt compelled to pick it up.

“Wait a sec,” He said as he stared at the silver angel wing necklace at his feet. He looked more closely as he examined it in between his fingers.

“I think it belongs to that guy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really appreciate it if you guys leave some feedback so I'd know what to improve on. Once again, thanks so much. :)


End file.
